Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

I’m still not sure
Last season I came within an eyelash of ordering NBA League Pass.  At some point I’m unsure of the exact time frame the policy was changed a customer could purchase the entire package or an individual team.  Naturally since all the Laker moves beginning in July I’ve been pondering, “Do I want to purchase League Pass?”  

There’s a good news-bad news answer, the good if a customer purchases a single team its quite economical.  As for the bad it’s not a monetary issue rather a SLEEP issue.  Evening Laker games in the Midwest begin at 9:30 p.m. and conclude close to midnight.  An overtime game is out of the question, I did that once with an ESPN game and it was 12:45 a.m. when the game concluded.  let’s just say Larry Laker will decide shortly after the season begins. 

Update
The new Clipper jerseys we covered on Wednesday are alternate ones, they are not replacing any jerseys in current use.  I’m watching the Clippers playing a road game in Vancouver and they have the jerseys we are accustomed to seeing.  Just wanted to update you and me at the same time.

I promise to drop this rant
The Peoples Republic of China and the United States of America share a love of NBA basketball.  The people in the in the nation with the world’s largest population of that nation have adopted NBA basketball as their own.  It’s been a financial boon to the NBA as the game has grown in China until the tweet.  You know the story by now a since deleted tweet upset the government of China so greatly it’s unsure what the future might hold.

Commissioner Silver went on record indicating he held discussions with key individuals but there was a key issue.  It’s claimed the Chinese government wanted GM Daryl Morey fired for the tweet, I hope this is not taken from a point of arrogance.  In China if someone had done what Morey did, he might indeed be fired but they forgot this is the United States of America.  We are a cultural mix of political parties and ethnicities; a government official might be fired but not a private citizen.  NOTE:  Before this account was published a Chinese government official denied the report they requested Morey be fired. 

Where in the World is Andre Iguodala?
Anyone out there remember the PBS program, “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”  We’ve changed the name and nature of the game; this one becomes Where in the World is Andre Iguodala.  Iguodala now with the Grizzlies is 35-years old, although on the roster we cannot uncover any indication he’s set foot on the basketball court in the pre-season.  The small forward/shooting guard is quite a valuable spot player due to his defensive prowess. 

Despite his age and the mileage on his NBA body at least two teams wish to add him to their roster.  This is Andre, he wants to play in Los Angeles doesn’t matter if it’s the Clippers or the Lakers.  Where is Grizzlies management in their thinking, they want compensation in trading him, they don’t want to pay him to play.  This is Iguodala where does he play in the 2019-20 season?  How does Iguodala find himself in Los Angeles? This is Andre Iguodala, confused fans have no idea where Andre plays. 

Hot seat…. hardly
A Yahoo story mentioned three NBA coaches who are on the hot seat for the upcoming season.  One on the names mentioned was Laker coach Frank Vogel.  I almost fell out of my chair with laughter, don’t confuse my response.  The Laker coach is certainly expected to win however it’s highly unlikely he will be fired in the    middle of the season. 

In fact, he might not be fired at the end of the season depending on the Lakers playoff performance.  A couple more points to discuss, if for some reason the team is below .500 at any point, we might hear rumblings about the team and its coach.  I remain unsure who is calling the shots in the front office however I have a degree of comfort.  This comes about due to free agency; the team was quite active despite not landing Kawhi Leonard. 

“They pay 6 foot 10 guys more”
The NBA sent out a memo as the 2019 training camp is upon us.  Teams must certify age of players and real height.  It was pointed out Kings guard Buddy Hield is one year older than originally listed.  As for the height issue it’s been no great secret college and NBA teams for eons have been guilty of inflating the height of team members.  Kevin Durant goes the other direction; he’s listed as 6 foot 9 but is 7 feet tall in shoes. 

Former Knick great Willis Reed must have shrunk, he’s now listed at 6 feet 9 inches.  Seriously that was his height when he arrived in the NBA.  Back in his college days one of the basketball coaches at Grambling asked him “How tall are you”, Reed replied “I’m 6 foot 9”?  “You are 6 foot 10 “was the response from the coach, “They pay 6 foot 10 guys more in the NBA.”  We cannot document the truth of the story however it certainly sounds possible.